Update
I'm trying to build the site to its complete state as quick as possible, but it is going to take time.  September marks my the first installment of Elsewhere, a newsletter of sorts (or e-zine, as it's know).  My plan for Elsewhere is to have a mix of updates, pictures of Los Angeles and opinions... as well as anything else I can think up.

Afterthoughts: Welcome to my homepage

Hello, and welcome to my site.  August 3rd, I sat at my computer and thought about how everyone has a homepage.  Some of them are great, and some of them are downright horrible.  Most fall somewhere in the middle.  I've tried before to build a homepage for myself, but for some reason I've never stayed interested long enough to do anything with it.  I've had about five sites, but none of them have kept my interest for very long.  This one is going to last because I finally know what I want to do with a homepage.

I went out looking for a digital camera because pictures are very important on a site.  Pictures and words are what make a homepage a home.  Wow, did that sound like a cliché or what?

September is the official start of my best and last homepage.  This is a work in progress so please be patient with me.  I have a lot of ideas for this site, and I hope you'll enjoy them in the months to come.

I invite you to look around and visit often because I will be adding new things almost every week.  Feel free to sign my guestbook.  Your comments, questions and criticisms are welcomed.  In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of the Newsletter.

Man about town: Griffith Park Observatory
Los Angeles, the city of angeles.  Perched high atop the city, like an eagle in its nest, sits the Griffith Park Observatory.  Built in the middle of the art deco era, the observatory is one of those unique structures that you won't find anywhere but in Los Angeles, like Randy's donuts in Inglewood.  At times one can look at it and it looks like it's a space ship that has landed in the Hollywood hills and was abandoned by its inhabitants.  Take a trip around Hollywood, or the Sunset strip, and you'll find those inhabitants, and their prodigy, walking among the other freaks.

Built and opening in 1935, the observatory has not only been the sight where people can drive up and see the stars at night, but also the scene for many a Hollywood movie.  Rebel Without a Cause, Devil in a Blue Dress, and L.A. Confidential are but three of the many movies that have featured the observatory.

Once inside the observatory visitors have two halls to explore.  The camera obscura, the submarine periscope and the sun telescope are but the few exhibits found at the observatory.

The views from the outside terrace are some of the best in Los Angeles.  On a clear day a person can literally see the desert in the east to the ocean in the west.  Visit the observatory soon because in 2002 it will close for two years for a major renovation.  Information can be found at www.griffithobs.org.

Editorial: The un-talented, do they know they suck?
The other day I was talking to someone over a glass of water whether un-talented people know that they don't have any real talent.  I wondered if un-talented people have a sense that they actually have talent, or have they diluted themselves to the point where they believe their own lie?  There are a multitude of popular artists out there today who are just plain mediocre.  For example, does anyone outside of a 14 year old girl really think that N'sync, or the Backstreet Boys, have any real talent at all?  I don't think so.  Nevertheless, I perfectly understand the need for mediocre talent.  It's like why there's a sea level... it's the common mark, the lowest common denominator.  Without it you can't measure the highest peak, or the deepest ocean.  So it goes for the boy bands, and others, who are the mark mediocrity.  Jennifer Lopez is one of the nations biggest recording artist, but I ask you, is she really a good singer?  I'll answer the question for you, she's not.

What strikes me most is that in time these so-called artists seem to believe their own hype.  I'm sure that if you asked J.Lo if she really thinks she's a good singer that she would say yes.  So many great artists don't need to make a big fuss over their talent, it is self-evident.  People know true talent when the encounter it because it shines brighter than the sun.  When an artist's success is solely based on hype their shelf life is short because their art is totally empty.

Everyone would agree that Britney Spears does not have the greatest voice in the world.  Yet, she is maybe the biggest star in the world right now.  Why?  Is it because her songs are so great as to compare to anything the Beatles, or the Stones, did?  Ironically enough, she covered the Rolling Stones classic 'I can't get no satisfaction' on her last album.  Badly, I might add.

Britney Spears' success is better attributed to her hype and her tight clothes.  It's no longer important for an artist to create great art, but rather to sell the masses yet another sleek product.  Britney Spears, and the rest of her kind, have come out of the hype machine.  They aren't so much artists, but rather Hungry Man dinners.  And, like a Hungry Man dinner your not really satisfied with the meal.  You just have a filled stomach.  You can live on a steady diet of Hungry Man dinners, and Britney Spears, but it's not going to be very fulfilling in the long run.

The way I see it, the Hungry Man dinners of the musical world are trying to pass themselves off as filet mignon.  Worse of all, people are buying it because they don't know what real filet mignon should taste like.

In this era of super hype I think that these so-called artists have come to believe that they are the genuine article.  As long as the masses don't catch on they will continue to flourish.  But just wait until a great artist does emerge from the sea and soars high above everyone with their talent.  Then maybe, just maybe, the... ah, who am i kidding, they'll never sell.

Etcetera: Supermarket Etiquette
(one in a series)

I actually love going to the market.  There's so much stuff, chips, ice cream and my favorite, soda, to name a few.  What does annoy me about going to the supermarket are the people who are inconsiderate of others.  I'm talking about those idiots who cause nothing but trouble at the market.  Even if your not one of those people I ask you to read on and learn a little something about Supermarket Etiquette.

A shopping cart is necessary when buying more than a handful of items.  It's not a space craft with millions of parts and a manual as thick as a phone book, yet there is always someone who can't figure out how to drive it around the market.

1) Be considerate of the people around you.  Everyone is at a supermarket to buy something they want and/or need.  Don't block the whole aisle with your cart because your looking for some jar of jelly.  Park your cart you would normally park a car, close to the shelves.  Most market aisles are barely big enough to fit two carts side by side, so consider that when you block someone's way around you.  Don't leave your cart in the middle of the aisle either.  Make the cart an extension of your own body, and don't dilly dally when someone is behind you trying to get through.  Let them pass and then go back to looking for that jelly.

2) Ten items or less means ten items or less.  Don't shortcut a longer line because you have 11 or 12 items and the cashier won't mind... I mind.  Ask if the line your in is cash only, don't just rely on the signs.  Some markets now accept cash, check or credit in the express lane, but not all of them do.  Don't wait until your total comes up to fill in the date and sign your name on the check.  Filling it before hand saves a lot of time, just leave the total blank until you know what it's going to be.

3) Don't complain about the price of something when your in front of the cashier.  Find the manager, who is usually in the front of the market, and ask him or her to double check a sale price before you get in line.  If it doesn't apply to the item your interested in put it back where you found it.  No one likes to be in line behind someone who is arguing over the price of a particular item.

4) If you have kids, watch them.  If they're little, don't leave them alone in a shopping cart.  If they are older, don't let them run around aimlessly.  A market is not a playground.  Teach your kids that there are certain situations in which they must be quiet and calm.  In short, teach them boundaries as well as self-discipline.

5) Don't steal.  It may sound like a no brainer, but even taking a little piece of candy from the candy display is stealing.  Stealing makes the price of everything in the store go up.  So, in reality that free piece of candy can cost you a lot more in the long run.  Security cameras, guards and extra merchandise cost money, and that cost is passed on to the customers.

These are but five suggestions to keep in mind the next time you go to the market.  If everyone followed these suggestions your next trip to the market would be much more pleasant.  So please, make an effort to follow them.  I thank you.